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Let’s admit it, going to the dentist or orthodontist can be scary for many people. There are sharp needles, noisy drills, and other strange instruments going in and out of your mouth. Infection control in a dental office should also make patients scared.

Many dentists and orthodontists recognize these fears and have established names like Gentle Dental or Comfort Dentistry. Dental phobia is definitely a thing, but most of us scaredy-cat patients summon enough courage to struggle through dental procedures. Why? Dentists and orthodontists will stop our toothaches and fix our broken teeth. Ultimately we’ve come to realize that it’s almost never as bad as we imagined, and our anxiety is probably misplaced.

Or is it? What about infection control?

Phobic or not, you should know about grossly underreported infection control risks in dentistry that is cause for great concern.

DID YOU KNOW?

Dental offices do not have regular inspections, unlike restaurants.

State-mandated inspections only happen when a patient or staff member files a complaint. Offices are simply contacted by phone, email, or fax to explain the complaint. If the office addresses the infection control issue in a timely manner, no further action is taken. Inspections are only performed when there is a valid risk to patients. State health bodies do not have the money or manpower to inspect every dental office. Unless serious complaints are made, dental offices go unchecked and patients are left assuming their dentist is following strict safety protocols.


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DID YOU KNOW?

A dentist, orthodontist, and hygienist are required to get permission before performing any treatment. This is called informed consent. The individual concerned must be in possession of all relevant facts.

Do you have all of the facts about your treatment? Do you know all of the risks? Has your dentist ever discussed cross-contamination with you?

Cross-contamination is the transmission of bacteria, microorganisms, or other harmful substances from one object (or person) to another.

There is a dirty secret in dentistry. What you don’t know (what dentists, orthodontists, and hygienists fail to disclose) could be very hazardous to your health.

Deadly Diseases

Health Complications

Death

DO NO HARM

There is a fancy word for that. Non-maleficence means a dentist and orthodontist have a duty to refrain from harming the patient.

This key principle is detailed in the American Dental Association’s “Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct” and includes a specific clause about dentists being obligated to keep their knowledge and skills current.

Dentists, orthodontists, and hygienists are stuck in their old ways, and their bad habits can have severe consequences:

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?

Imagine receiving this infection control letter from your State Department of Health. This letter is real. You could be the next unlucky recipient of an official government invitation to come get your free blood test because you may have been exposed to hepatitis C, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or any number of other infectious diseases while receiving dental treatment.

Wait a minute . . . I can get AIDS from going to the dentist or orthodontist??!

Yes. You should also know that this 2013 case in Oklahoma is not isolated. There are other recent incidents in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, and elsewhere around the world.

In total, 4,208 patients from Dr. Harrington’s dental practice were tested by the Oklahoma Public Health Laboratory. 90 patients tested positive for hepatitis C, 6 for hepatitis B, and 4 for HIV.

You should be very scared.

Luck has nothing to do with it. Hygiene in healthcare is based upon science, and requires rigorous discipline to ensure patient safety. There are specialized decontamination procedures, equipment, and products created to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination.

Your safety should not be a optional service provided by your dentist, orthodontist, or hygienist?

INFECTION CONTROL

There is always risk of exposure to pathogens for everybody involved in a dental procedure including the dentist, orthodontist, hygienist and patient. This is why dental professionals today wear personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and eyewear.

Transmission of infectious material goes both ways. Dentists, orthodontists, and hygienists could get you sick. You could get the dentist, orthodontist, and hygienist sick. Barrier protection such as a disposable mask is designed to prevent this from happening. This most basic type of infection control measure has not always been the norm. It might surprise you to learn that wearing protective equipment such as gloves and masks only became mandatory in 1992.

What happened to change things?

INFECTION CONTROL DENTAL HISTORY

In 1991, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that an HIV-positive dentist in Florida transmitted HIV to six of his patients. This was the first confirmed case of HIV transmission in a clinical setting.

In 1992, infection control becomes a prominent factor in dental offices. Barrier protection becomes mandatory (gloves, masks, etc.).

Dentists, orthodontists, and hygienists are now required to wear masks and gloves. This level of protection is essential; however, it is only the beginning of the infection control story.

Did you know that not too long ago it was common practice to boil dental instruments for sterilization, and re-use hypodermic needles?

Now single-use needles are standard and dental offices have steam autoclaves for sterilization. Science has advanced policy, yet we still have dental holdouts, from early times who have not kept up with the CDC Basic Expectations for Safe Care. Now look at the wording of that title.... these should be "Basic Expectations" every patient should come to expect.

These changes all came about with proven science, but more importantly, public awareness of the facts.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Dental offices do a commendable job at trying to ensure patients and staff members are safe at all times. Adverse infection control dental breaches are increasing around the world. Dental offices have certain items that are used on every patient for every procedure that contain grossly underreported risks that are cause for concern. Patients should be informed of these risks to better understand what they are getting into when visiting a dentist or hygienist.

Science has increased patient safety with the advancements of certain products and safety protocols. Gloves and masks were optional at one point in dentistry. Science has advanced, and public awareness has increased, but none of these practices continue to be followed. Why? Because we now have a better understanding of the fact that these practices were unsafe. Today, dentists, orthodontists, and hygienists are still using two items that were designed and used over 40 years ago. The air water syringe, metal air water syringe tips, and dental unit waterlines have all been proven to be unsafe, yet no changes have been made. There are options on the market, but do you know if your office is using them? Ask, be an informed customer and let people know, you want to confirm they are offering you the highest level of patient safety possible.

Dental Infection Control Awareness

Dentistry’s Dirty Secret is raising public awareness to let the uninformed public learn what dentists, orthodontists, and hygienist already know, but choose to ignore. You and your family should be armed with the facts and risks associated with visiting your local dentist or orthodontist. The public needs to be aware of the facts and demand change. Until then, risks will continue to go unnoticed and unreported for the foreseeable future. Remember, it took almost 11 years to make personal protective equipment mandatory after the HIV epidemic was first reported. Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Patients do not need to become sick when this could have been addressed in prior years. Do we want to wait another 11 years to see results? The time to know the truth is now.

The time for action is here. The public needs to speed this process along to ensure you and your family receive the safest dental treatment possible.